Gary Sambrook: I have never been called first, Madam Deputy Speaker, so I will have to buy you a cup of tea later to say thank you. We saw at the beginning of this debate what it is really about. It is not about people’s energy bills or VAT. We saw the mask slip from the shadow Chancellor as she got quite angry with my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) and the former...
Gary Sambrook: The Labour party has spent the past six years campaigning against Brexit, which is the only reason we can do what Labour wants us to do today. Will the hon. Lady be honest with the House and say, from her heart of hearts, the measure she proposes would not be possible if we went back into the European Union?
Gary Sambrook: I thank the Minister and the Government for the eight successful bids into University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which will see new wards opened and will go some way towards helping our local NHS through the winter. What a stark contrast that is with the Labour years. When the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was built it was supposed to cost about £500 million, but that has rolled...
Gary Sambrook: rose—
Gary Sambrook: Talking of massed ranks, where are all the Labour Members? I saw on Twitter yesterday a graphic that said Labour was back in business. I am not too sure what business, but it is not the business of this House. Is it not the case that the reason they are not here is that they have no plan, no vision and no credibility to run this country?
Gary Sambrook: Last night I walked past the shadow Cabinet room and there was quite a party going on inside, and I popped my head round the corner and there was a lot of drinking and shuffling going on. That is fair enough, as those are the rules at the moment—knock yourselves out, it’s nearly Christmas—but why is it okay to come into the Chamber and tell us all one thing in front of the cameras and...
Gary Sambrook: The hon. Gentleman raises the issue of costs for rent etc. Would it not be far more logical to combine some of the services in the community, and team up with the fire brigade, ambulance services and community hubs for the local authority? Maybe, if we were really revolutionary, we could even merge some of the roles of the police and crime commissioner into that of the mayor, which would be...
Gary Sambrook: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Rees, and I thank my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich East (Nicola Richards) for securing today’s debate. I will start by talking about stop and search as a tool that the police are able to use to tackle crime. Just this week in the Northfield constituency, we have seen our local police force working with the National Crime...
Gary Sambrook: The hon. Member makes an interesting point. I do not have the figures to hand, but that £30 million would have gone a long way to providing local police stations. Even if it is not an entire police station that is open in the constituency—somewhere on the high street, in the community, in an impact area—that money could have been spent in local communities across the west midlands,...
Gary Sambrook: I thank the hon. Member for that intervention, but as my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley South (Mike Wood) pointed out, that is not replicated in other areas. Local decisions are made that have local consequences. That is the void between rhetoric and reality that I am talking about, which we see across all our constituencies in the west midlands. Finally, stop and search is an invaluable...
Gary Sambrook: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate the House Service has made of the number of potential redundancies among parliamentary staff which are consequential to (a) the closure of catering and hospitality venues and (b) restrictions placed on the number of visitors to the parliamentary estate.
Gary Sambrook: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the House of Commons Commission has made of the mental health implications of requiring MPs' and House staff to work from home.
Gary Sambrook: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether meetings of the House of Commons Commission are held in public.
Gary Sambrook: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the votes of the members of the House of Commons Commission on items requiring decision are recorded.
Gary Sambrook: If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
Gary Sambrook: I am sure my right hon. Friend shares my grave concern at Iran’s escalation of uranium enrichment to 60% and production of uranium metal, which has no credible civilian purpose. Will the Government therefore seek a resolution of censure at the next International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors session, so we can ensure that we hold Iran to account?
Gary Sambrook: I do not know why, but I feel overwhelmed to declare an interest in this particular topic. Does the Minister agree that it is often community organisations that provide the best outputs? Organisations such as Beeches Martial Arts and the Cofton Park Runners do so much to promote healthier living and exercise choices across the Northfield constituency. There might even be a role for local...
Gary Sambrook: What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the additional support for veterans and military charities announced on 6 September 2021.
Gary Sambrook: I know that my hon. Friend’s top priorities are the health and wellbeing of those people who have sacrificed so much for our country, especially in respect of mental health. Can he confirm that, if people who require specialist help were to reach out to NHS Operation Courage, they would get the bespoke care packages that they need and desperately deserve?
Gary Sambrook: Does the Prime Minister agree that this new partnership is an absolutely golden opportunity for jobs across the country, including at home in the midlands? It not only gives people the opportunity to defend our shared interests and values across the world, but the opportunity of a high-skilled job and the security of a pay packet.